By: Hancock, Blanco S.B. No. 1308
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the operation of an unmanned aircraft over an airport or
military installation; creating a criminal offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 42, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Section 42.15 to read as follows:
Sec. 42.15. OPERATION OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT OVER AIRPORT OR
MILITARY INSTALLATION. (a) In this section:
(1) "Airport" has the meaning assigned by Section
22.001, Transportation Code.
(2) "Military installation" means any military
installation owned or operated by or for the federal government,
this state, or another governmental entity.
(b) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally
or knowingly:
(1) operates an unmanned aircraft over an airport or
military installation and the unmanned aircraft is not higher than
400 feet above ground level;
(2) allows an unmanned aircraft to make contact with
an airport or military installation, including any person or object
on the premises of or within the airport or military installation;
or
(3) allows an unmanned aircraft to come within a
distance of an airport or military installation that is close
enough to interfere with the operations of or cause a disturbance to
the airport or military installation.
(c) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that
the conduct described by Subsection (b) was engaged in by:
(1) the federal government, this state, or a
governmental entity;
(2) a person under contract with or otherwise acting
under the direction or on behalf of the federal government, this
state, or a governmental entity;
(3) a law enforcement agency;
(4) a person under contract with or otherwise acting
under the direction or on behalf of a law enforcement agency;
(5) an owner or operator of the airport or military
installation;
(6) a person under contract with or otherwise acting
under the direction or on behalf of an owner or operator of the
airport or military installation;
(7) a person who has the prior written consent of the
owner or operator of the airport or military installation; or
(8) the owner or occupant of the property on which the
airport or military installation is located or a person who has the
prior written consent of the owner or occupant of that property.
(d) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor,
except that the offense is a Class A misdemeanor if the actor has
previously been convicted under this section.
SECTION 2. Section 423.0045(a)(1-a), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(1-a) "Critical infrastructure facility" means:
(A) one of the following, if completely enclosed
by a fence or other physical barrier that is obviously designed to
exclude intruders, or if clearly marked with a sign or signs that
are posted on the property, are reasonably likely to come to the
attention of intruders, and indicate that entry is forbidden:
(i) a petroleum or alumina refinery;
(ii) an electrical power generating
facility, substation, switching station, or electrical control
center;
(iii) a chemical, polymer, or rubber
manufacturing facility;
(iv) a water intake structure, water
treatment facility, wastewater treatment plant, or pump station;
(v) a natural gas compressor station;
(vi) a liquid natural gas terminal or
storage facility;
(vii) a telecommunications central
switching office or any structure used as part of a system to
provide wired or wireless telecommunications services;
(viii) a port, [a public or private airport
depicted in any current aeronautical chart published by the Federal
Aviation Administration,] a railroad switching yard, a trucking
terminal, or any other freight transportation facility;
(ix) a gas processing plant, including a
plant used in the processing, treatment, or fractionation of
natural gas;
(x) a transmission facility used by a
federally licensed radio or television station;
(xi) a steelmaking facility that uses an
electric arc furnace to make steel;
(xii) a dam that is classified as a high
hazard by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; or
(xiii) a concentrated animal feeding
operation, as defined by Section 26.048, Water Code; or
[(xiv) a military installation owned or
operated by or for the federal government, the state, or another
governmental entity; or]
(B) if enclosed by a fence or other physical
barrier obviously designed to exclude intruders:
(i) any portion of an aboveground oil, gas,
or chemical pipeline;
(ii) an oil or gas drilling site;
(iii) a group of tanks used to store crude
oil, such as a tank battery;
(iv) an oil, gas, or chemical production
facility;
(v) an oil or gas wellhead; or
(vi) any oil and gas facility that has an
active flare.
SECTION 3. Section 424.001, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 424.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "critical
infrastructure facility" has the meaning assigned by Section
423.0045(a)(1-a) and also includes:
(1) any pipeline transporting oil or gas or the
products or constituents of oil or gas; [and]
(2) a public or private airport depicted in any
current aeronautical chart published by the Federal Aviation
Administration;
(3) a military installation owned or operated by or
for the federal government, this state, or another governmental
entity; and
(4) a facility or pipeline described by this section
that is under construction and all equipment and appurtenances used
during that construction.
SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An
offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed
by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of
this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of
this Act if any element of the offense was committed before that
date.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.